P R E S S R E L E A S E Tuesday16 March 2010
RTS ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR THE PROGRAMME AWARDS 2009
The Royal Television Society (RTS), Britain’s leading forum for television and related media, has announced the winners for the RTS Programme Awards 2009. The ceremony, held at Grosvenor House on Tuesday 16 March, was hosted by actor, comedian and radio presenter Rob Brydon and the awards were presented by RTS Chair, Wayne Garvie.
The RTS Programme Awards celebrate all genres of television programming, from history to soaps, children's fiction to comedy performance. Covering both national and regional output, as well honouring the programmes themselves, they aim to recognise the work of exceptional actors, presenters, writers and production teams.
The Winners:
Scripted Comedy
The Thick of It BBC Productions for BBC Two “An acerbic, intelligent and sweeping comedy which attained new heights. Faultless ensemble acting, meticulous writing and intricately contrived comedy climaxes combined to make this a series we didn‟t want to end.”
Nominees Miranda BBC Productions for BBC Two The Inbetweeners A Bwark Production for E4
Entertainment
Newswipe with Charlie Brooker Zeppotron for BBC Four “Right on the money... Refreshingly polemical and with real authenticity.”
Nominees Britain's Got Talent A talkbackTHAMES and SYCO TV Production for ITV1 The X Factor A talkbackTHAMES and SYCO TV Production for ITV1
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Daytime and Early Peak Programme
Come Dine With Me ITV Studios for Channel 4 “Remarkable. The tone, the humour and the casting make this one of the best global formats the British TV industry has produced.”
Nominees Coach Trip 12 Yard Productions for Channel 4 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain Cactus Television for BBC Two
Arts Baroque ZCZ Films for BBC Four “An accessible, entertaining and visually rich programme, providing an original and memorable introduction to its subject.”
Nominees The First Movie A CONNECTfilm/Screen Siren Pictures Production for More4 What Is Beauty? Seneca Productions for BBC Two
Documentary
Wounded BBC Productions for BBC One “The jury found this unsentimental and unflinchingly honest account of the rehabilitation of young wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan to be as moving as it was thought provoking. An outstanding contribution to chronicling the consequences of conflict.”
Nominees The Force An Oxford Film and Television Production for Channel 4 True Stories - Afghan Star A Roast Beef Production for More4
History
Garrow's Law Twenty Twenty Television for BBC One “The jury were very impressed by the accessible telling of such a good „unknown‟ dramatic story based on strong historical research.”
Nominees 1066 - The Battle for Middle Earth Hardy Pictures for Channel 4 Iran and the West Brook Lapping Productions for BBC Two
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Constructed Factual Series
Famous, Rich and Homeless Love Productions for BBC One “The programme tackled a difficult subject for peaktime BBC One, in a way that challenged viewers‟ perceptions. The experiences of the three celebrities who volunteered to live rough were authentic as well as disturbing.”
Nominees The World's Strictest Parents Twenty Twenty Television for BBC Three Victorian Farm Lion Television for BBC Two
Nations and Regions Programme
A History of Scotland BBC Scotland for BBC One Scotland “A beautifully composed film, exceptionally well-presented and eloquently told, which challenged the received wisdom.”
Nominees Deep Wreck Mysteries - Death of a Battleship Mallinson Sadler Productions, Northern Sky Entertainment and Deep Sea Productions for UTV Shameless A Company Pictures Production for Channel 4
Features and Lifestyle Series
Heston's Feasts - Heston's Victorian Feast Optomen Television for Channel 4 “A wonderfully original series which brought to life a series of wildly complicated and long forgotten dishes from the Victorian era. Beautiful to watch, and an astonishing treat for the lucky celebrities.”
Nominees Don't Tell The Bride Renegade Pictures for BBC Three The Sex Education Show vs Pornography A Cheetah Television Production for Channel 4
Children's Drama
Roy JAM Media for CBBC “Original, inclusive and warm, [Roy] delivers its message without preaching.”
Nominees MI High Kudos Film and Television for CBBC The Sarah Jane Adventures BBC/BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC & BBC One
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Children's Programme
Big and Small - Blame it on the Drain Kindle Entertainment for CBeebies “A well constructed programme with great warmth, charm and child appeal.”
Nominees Bookaboo Happy Films for CITV Horrible Histories Lion Television for CBBC
Multi-Channel Programme Award
Dating in the Dark Initial, an Endemol Company, for LIVING “A gripping and revealing new twist on the dating format which shed new light (or not!) on the agony and ecstasy of looking for love.”
Nominees Micro Men Darlow Smithson Productions for BBC Four True Stories - Here's Johnny An Animal Monday Production for More4
Presenter
Louis Theroux - A Place for Paedophiles BBC Productions for BBC Two “[Louis Theroux] delivered a compelling, incisive and brave documentary. He was not afraid to tackle controversial areas or to raise uncomfortable issues which the film explored with honesty.”
Nominees James May - James May's Toy Stories Plum Pictures for BBC Two Piers Morgan - Piers Morgan’s Life Stories ITV Studios for ITV1
International Award
Mad Men Lionsgate for BBC Four “Moving at a glacial pace, and beautifully fetishising the period, this glossy and character-led show cleverly explores the social issues of the time.”
Nominees Damages Sony PicturesTelevision for BBC One Generation Kill HBO, HBO Films, Boom, Blown Deadline Productions, Company Pictures for FX
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Science & Natural History
Inside Nature's Giants Windfall Films for Channel 4 [Inside Nature‟s Giants] took an unpromising concept – filmed post-mortems on large creatures – and turned it into a riveting piece of television. But it also gave a deeper understanding about the life and death in the natural world, and included scientific learning alongside images that were – in every sense – unforgettable.”
Nominees The Great Sperm Race Blink! Films for Channel 4 Yellowstone: Winter BBC/Animal Planet Co-Production for BBC Two
Soap and Continuing Drama
EastEnders BBC Productions for BBC One “On top form as it approached its quarter century…”
Nominees Casualty BBC Productions for BBC One The Bill talkbackTHAMES for ITV1
Single Drama
Five Minutes of Heaven Big Fish Films/Ruby Films for BBC Two “Two towering performances set this intense and edgy drama apart from others in the field. Original and daring, this skilfully directed tale sheds fresh light on the Troubles in Northern Ireland and their ongoing aftermath.”
Nominees A Short Stay in Switzerland BBC Productions for BBC One Endgame A Daybreak Pictures Production for Channel 4
Drama Series
The Street ITV Studios for BBC One “A beautifully constructed, intelligent drama that is heartbreakingly real. This brilliant authored series makes the everyday feel epic. It's British television drama at its glorious best.”
Nominees Cast Offs Eleven Film for Channel 4 Misfits A Clerkenwell Films Production for E4
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Drama Serial
Unforgiven Red Production Company for ITV1 “A compelling, moving and believable tale of revenge and redemption. Thoughtfully written and intelligently plotted, the story was engrossing and thrillingly told with excellent pace.”
Nominees Occupation Kudos Film and Television for BBC One Red Riding Revolution Films in association with Screen Yorkshire & LipSync Post for Channel 4
Actor (Female)
Naomie Harris - Small Island Ruby Television Production in association with AL Films for BBC One “[Naomie] created an extraordinary rich character, one who brought to vivid and moving life, the complexity and contradictions of the immigration experience.”
Nominees Suranne Jones - Unforgiven Red Production Company for ITV1 Julie Walters - A Short Stay in Switzerland BBC Productions for BBC One
Actor (Male)
David Oyelowo - Small Island Ruby Television Production in association with AL Films for BBC One “Brilliantly expressive in a difficult role, [David Oyelowo] showed both comedy and pathos.”
Nominees Stephen Graham -The Street ITV Studios for BBC One Tom Hardy - The Take Company Pictures/Warner Sisters for Sky 1
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Writer - Drama
Peter Bowker - Occupation Kudos Film and Television for BBC One “An original and moving narrative with great characters, giving the fresh insight which only drama can into the scarred lives of those directly involved in the Iraq war.”
Nominees Guy Hibbert - Five Minutes of Heaven Big Fish Films/Ruby Films for BBC Two Howard Overman - Misfits A Clerkenwell Films Production for E4
Writer - Comedy
Iain Morris & Damon Beesley - The Inbetweeners A Bwark Production for E4 “The jury really admired this show for its naturalistic, sharply observed and above all consistently laugh-out-loud funny take on the peculiar human condition that is life at secondary school.”
Nominees Jo Brand, Joanna Scalan & Vicki Pepperdine - Getting On Vera Productions for BBC Four Miranda Hart with James Cary & Richard Hurst - Miranda BBC Productions for BBC Two
Entertainment Performance
Harry Hill - Harry Hill's TV Burp Avalon Television for ITV1 “…consistently brilliant and hilarious, appealing to all ages from 7 to 77. With a forensic eye for finding the comedy gold in the week‟s television and his warm humour, he makes his own show the funniest thing on TV.”
Nominees Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!/Britain’s Got Talent ITV Studios/A talkbackTHAMES and SYCO TV Production for ITV1 Michael McIntyre - Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Open Mike Manchester Productions for BBC One
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Comedy Performance
Miranda Hart - Miranda BBC Productions for BBC Two “[Miranda Hart] has created a warm and vulnerable character that is wonderfully engaging and genuinely funny. She carries off her slapstick routines and monologues to camera through the sheer skill and charm of her performance.”
Nominees Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It BBC Productions for BBC Two Ruth Jones - Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Productions for BBC One
Judges’ Award Norma Percy “…a documentary film-maker with a formidable track record of investigating the political past, tracking down the truth and through the medium of television, challenging and rewriting “The Official Version” - the one the authorities want us to believe!
She is an American who came to London as a post-graduate student and stayed on to work as a researcher in the House of Commons until she was recruited to work on Granada‟s investigative strand World in Action. Her first task was to co-produce a two-year, meticulously detailed and researched programme which followed the progress of one clause of a bill which set up the Office of Fair Trading. Those were the days!
After a flirtation with a new format in which a panel of political journalists played the parts of politicians to tell the story of two major economic crises, the first for Labour under Callaghan and the second for the 1979 conservative government (in which Sarah Hogg played Mrs Thatcher! ) Granada decided not to make any more.
She then went on, first at Granada and later at the new company, Brook Lapping, to make the programmes which have justifiably given her the international reputation and respect which she deserves. Her indefatigable research and absolute refusal to take no for an answer have resulted in scoop after scoop in her forensic investigations into recent political history.
The Second Russian Revolution told the epic inside story of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Watergate was the story which seemed to have already been told – until she dug deeper than anyone before. Then came The Death of Yugoslavia, Endgame In Ireland, Elusive Peace, Israel and the Arabs and Iran and the West, all displaying the qualities which now are expected and admired in her work – impeccable research, tough but respectful interviewing, rare archive film, and the contribution of absolutely everybody who mattered in the story. Presidents, generals, conmen and criminals – eventually everyone gives in to the woman who will not take no for an answer.”
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Lifetime Achievement Award Tony Warren
“[Tony Warren] created the most successful programme in the history of British television.
At the tender age of 22 he was a contract writer at Granada Television in Manchester, toiling away on an episode of Biggles when in a moment of petulant frustration, he stood on the top of a filing cabinet and pleaded with his producer to “Let me write what I know about.” And so he did. He wrote about life as most of Britain lived it in 1960, with characters that everyone recognised – a slice of social realism that to this day bowls you over with its energy, authenticity and the sheer vitality of the lives portrayed.
This was no piece of team writing with legions of storyliners and script editors, this was a singular creation from the imagination of a creative genius. Those first 10 episodes of Coronation Street were so fully realised with a company of actors so perfectly cast that they set a powerful template that has endured today. Britain has changed beyond recognition over the past 50 years and Coronation Street has changed too. But watch closely an episode today and that unique mix of vividly realised characters, playing high drama effortlessly dovetailed with everyday comedy, links right back to the very beginnings of the programme.
This has been our recipient‟s extraordinary achievement and his influence has extended well beyond the continuing success of Coronation Street. He had unknowingly created a unique style of soap rooted in social realism which was to influence Channel 4‟s Brookside and the BBC‟s EastEnders. He had also invented a programme which was to define ITV and underpin its fortunes.
He created a show that has for virtually every week of its 49 years been the most watched in Britain and which for millions of us is inseparable from the story of our own lives.”
** ENDS **
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Notes to editors:
About The Royal Television Society:
The Royal Television Society is Britain’s leading forum for television and related media. Membership is open to everyone with an interest in the medium.
The RTS was granted its Royal title in 1966 and HRH The Prince of Wales became Patron of the Society in 1997. The RTS brings together people to exchange ideas, debate and explore key issues. The RTS Awards are an internationally recognised hallmark for quality and originality.
For over 80 years, the RTS has provided the UK’s main platform for debate about the future of television. Its lectures, events and publications make a substantial contribution to raising standards and developing practice. The RTS organises dinners with influential speakers, lectures, monthly sessions on current issues, and the world famous biennial Cambridge Convention sets the agenda for the future.
Television, the leading UK monthly on television issues and broadcasting policy, is distributed free to members. Separate RTS Awards events cover Programme Making, Television Journalism, Craft and Design, Education, Students and Innovation.
Many of the Society’s dinners and conventions are oversubscribed. Patron and individual membership entitles members to priority applications and advanced booking.
There are 13 regional centres in the UK, and a Republic of Ireland Centre located in Dublin. Each Centre provides a mix of programme, technical, and craft events.
The Society is an educational charity, embracing all aspects of television, including the creative community, broadcasting, equipment manufacture, professional consultancy, journalism, design, research and development, cable, satellite, video and interactivity. The Society relies for its future on the contributions of individual members and corporate Patrons. Individual membership is available from £65.00 per year.
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Franklin Rae Communications +44 (0) 20 7490 4050
Mary Jones [email protected] 07843 572070
Greg Halse [email protected] 07890 264404
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